In a constantly changing world there is one personal philosophy to which international businessman and author Edmond Israel adheres firmly—having a love of life.

An optimist by nature—even after experiencing the Nazi invasions in Europe and recognizing at a young age Hitler's evil plan to annihilate the Jews, Dr. Israel never stopped seeing the beauty of life, which he conveys in his compelling book, "In Love with Life, An American Dream of a Luxembourger," (2006) Sacred Heart University Press.

Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, executive director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University, calls it "an extraordinary book about an extraordinary life."

Dr. Israel puts readers at ease with his conversational style, aided by the book's format in which his friend and interviewer Raymond Flammant poses questions to him throughout.

Its easy style aside, "In Love with Life" tackles difficult subject matter and challenges readers to adopt a new way of thinking, to embrace the world as it is while working to improve it for all its citizens.

"We are still at a state of profound cosmic ignorance," he says in his book.

"The future is wide open. It is an infinite dimension of potentialities. It is up to the human species to seize them or not," Dr. Israel writes. 

The book chronicles Dr. Israel's pampered childhood in Luxembourg—where he was born in 1924, his family's escape from Europe to a new life in America during World War II, his subsequent return to his homeland and his long and distinguished career in the banking industry, rising to the ranks of Europe's financial elite.

Dr. Israel became the director-general for Dexia Banque, chairman of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, founding chairman of Cedel International, now Clearstream International—a worldwide clearing institution for the finance industry. He was president of the Federation of European Stock Exchanges from 1993-95 and in 1998 was elected vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asia-Europe Foundation. He also serves as a regent for the Sacred Heart University Luxembourg campus.

"He is an outstanding business leader, but even more importantly, he is a remarkable human being whose heart is compassionate and full of joy...He has seen the worst and best of times and chooses to believe in the highest capacity of humans," said SHU President Anthony Cernera, in his introduction. The two became friends in 1996 when Dr. Israel traveled to the Fairfield, Conn. campus to receive an honorary doctorate degree.

The book is rich with imagery as Dr. Israel recounts his life, from incidents barely significant in the scheme of things—like the first shave of his "fluffy" facial hair while in a refugee camp just outside Casablanca, to his family's dangerous three-week passage across the German submarine-infested Atlantic Ocean aboard a crammed ship in 1942 for the promise of a better life in the safe harbor of the United States.

"We had escaped the hell of occupied Europe and the threat to be deported to death camps in Germany or Eastern Europe," Dr. Israel, a Jew, writes in Part I of his book, titled Dancing on a Volcano.

As the New York skyline came into view, Dr. Israel said he and other refugees began to understand the deep meaning of America. "It is the greatest of all values: Freedom! Freedom!...This was the nation where the future of mankind was shaped," Dr. Israel wrote.

Dr. Israel hopes to do some world-shaping of his own. The book concludes with his new thinking, of inviting believers, atheists, scientists and philosophers together from which he hopes will emerge "a new planetary consciousness" that will translate into "more responsible behavior and a greater solidarity of humanity."

"We must be the builders of the future where man will live globally in a society of justice, in a society of peace, where prosperity will no longer be exclusively reserved to a minority...This is not utopian, but a compelling necessity for survival of mankind," Dr. Israel says.

"Sacred Heart University Press decided to publish this book because we see in Edmond Israel a living example of wisdom and hope in a world where both are desperately needed," Cernera said.

"The book ends with his passionate call for a dialogue of all religions and cultures that will lead to a more just, more humane, more peaceful world," Ehrenkranz said.

Dr. Israel's upcoming book tour includes a speaking engagement at Congregation Agudath Sholom, Simcha Room (301 Strawberry Hill Avenue), Stamford, Conn., where he will discuss “Memories & Dreams, Christian-Jewish Relations: A European's Perspective” on Monday, June 5 at 6 p.m. He will offer a book talk and signing on the campus of Sacred Heart University (5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, Conn.) on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. These events are free and open to the public.

Other stops on Dr. Israel's book tour include the Embassy of the Grand-
Duchy of Luxembourg in Washington, D.C. and the Consulate General of Luxembourg in New York.

About the Book:                                                 

TITLE: In Love With Life: An American Dream of a Luxembourger
AUTHOR: Edmund Israel
PUB DATE:   June 1, 2006
PRICE:         $21.95 softcover
PAGES:        154
ISBN: 1-888112-13-1

Copyright 2006 by the Sacred Heart University Press

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